New research study puts the "pressure" on hypertension

Yale New Haven Health is supporting Pressure Check, a new research study that unites clinicians and community leaders to help lower blood pressure.

The study is spearheaded by experts at Yale School of Medicine (YSM) and Yale School of Public Health and funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), a non-profit organization that funds clinical research that compares different ways of treating patients.

Pressure Check currently has sites in New Haven, Boston, Norfolk and Houston. The program is unique in that each research site has partnered with 10 community sites to reach potential patients. At these sites, which include local churches and businesses, anyone can be screened for high blood pressure, and if they have it, can enter the program.

Participants receive a blood pressure cuff to monitor themselves at home and are treated with one of three different methods. The first is referral to a primary care provider. The second includes telehealth visits with a specialized team that includes pharmacists who can help manage and adjust medications. The third uses telehealth visits with a community health worker who can determine barriers to care and connect patients with needed resources. Researchers then follow up with patients at six, 12 and 18 months to determine whether those approaches to care helped control their blood pressure.

“We started this as a community effort, realizing that we were not reaching people early enough in the disease course,” said principal investigator Erica Spatz, MD, director, Preventive Cardiovascular Health Program, YNHHS Heart and Vascular Center (HVC), and associate professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, YSM. “In many cases, we were first meeting them in the hospital because they were presenting with congestive heart failure, stroke or heart attack due to high blood pressure.”

Dr. Spatz and Rafael Perez-Escamilla, PhD, professor, Yale School of Public Health, designed Pressure Check to address disparities in blood pressure control. High blood pressure disproportionately affects low-income communities as well as Black and Latinx adults.

In addition to determining which care model is most effective, Pressure Check is revealing reasons some patients aren’t getting the care they need.

“These blood pressure screening events provide a wonderful opportunity to talk to people and hear from them about their fears, concerns and the things that are holding them back,” said Katherine Tucker, RN, DNP, clinical program director, Yale New Haven Hospital HVC Outpatient Services.

Dr. Spatz said this level of care wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of those involved in the study, which includes cardiovascular specialists and a team of pharmacists, nurses, advanced practice nurses and community volunteers.

“High blood pressure is challenging because it's chronic. It doesn't cause symptoms. People need to be attentive to it and it takes ongoing management, which we can't do alone,” she said. “We need to do that in partnership with communities, so I hope that this is a lasting relationship that continues on into the future.”

Learn more at pressurecheck.org.